Boulder considers dog-waste composting

City board to consider pilot program at Valmont Dog Park

Laura Maurer washes her dog, Oona, before going home after spending some time Monday afternoon at the Valmont Dog Park in Boulder. City officials are considering using the park as the site of a pilot program for composting dog waste.
(
MARK LEFFINGWELL
)

Each year, about 108,000 pounds of waste is collected from Boulder's open space and mountain parks properties -- 85 percent of which is dog poop.

In an effort to find new ways of disposing the unsightly droppings, which are often taken to the landfill or left behind in plastic bags, Boulder officials are considering investing in a pilot program for composting dog waste.

On July 25, the city's Parks and Recreation Advisory Board will discuss the possibility of installing a special compost collector at the Valmont Dog Park, located at 5275 Valmont Road.

"Diapers and dog waste are probably two of the least favorite (items) that somebody out in the park area deals with," Kirk Kincannon, Boulder's parks and recreation director, told the advisory board earlier this year.

The concept, if proven successful, could spread to other city parks and open space properties.

Dog waste can contain parasites and infectious diseases that can be transmitted to humans. But some Colorado companies are now specializing in dog-waste compost that meets health codes and can be used as mulch.

Rose Seemann, owner of the Weld County-based EnviroWagg, uses in-ground and tumbling compost bins that are specifically designed to break down dog waste.

"The trick to getting rid of some of the bad things, which are mostly roundworm eggs, is just to get the heat up" to about 145 degrees, she said.

At that point, she said, parasites can't survive.

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Seemann's company collects doggy leftovers from parks in Westminster and Thornton, and partners with a poop-scooping company. The material is cooked in large piles, bagged and sold as "Doggone Good Compost."

Seemann said she recently submitted a proposal to the city that would place one of her company's collection containers at Valmont Dog Park.

According to a city estimate, one such collection site would cost about $6,100 to install and operate for a year. That includes biodegradable waste bags, hauling and a collection container.

"It's really not very expensive," Seemann said, "considering the amount of money that's spent on trash."

She said the cost to the city could be less if Boulder changed its rules to allow advertisements on bags or receptacles.

According to city records, Boulder already spends about $5,000 per year on "tipping fees" to have dog waste that's collected from open space properties dumped.

One of the major hurdles to using a composting system at dog parks, according to city officials, is educating the public to use only biodegradable bags. Plastic bags from grocery stores or newspapers will not break down, and can cause a compost system to fail.

Julie McCabe, a Boulder resident and member of Friends Interested in Dogs and Open Space, has been lobbying city leaders to do more about dog waste in public places.

"To me, it was the thing that cried out most immediately for a practical solution," she said.

McCabe, who is a dog owner, said encouraging people to pick up after their companions only goes so far. It's up to the city, she added, to provide the infrastructure to support the habit.

"All across the United States, people are realizing that dogs accessing public areas create both aesthetic and health hazards," she said.

If Boulder does add composting to its parks, it would join several other Colorado cities that have adopted similar programs.

Westminster now has two dog parks where canine waste is collected for composting -- the larger one generating about 2,000 pounds per month. Englewood and Thornton have similar programs.

Officials in the Western Slope town of Carbondale briefly explored using a special composting machine that converts methane gas from dog waste into electricity for light poles. But that idea was dropped after officials decided it would be too much work to make sure people were using special biodegradable bags.

"Do you know how much I'd have to pay someone to de-bag dog waste?" joked Larry Ballenger, the town's public works director.

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